Prince Akatsuki
by Chaos Goddess of the Void
Summary: AU: Akatsuki is a Prince, his mother is dead, and his father, the King, almost killed him. This is all amidst an ongoing war. The setting and all of the characters but Akatsuki are my own. I do not own Vampire Knight.
1. Chapter 1

"Akatsuki?" Hunter called out, "you'd better come over here and have a look at this."

"What is it?" Akatsuki sidled up to the edge of the balcony, where Hunter was standing, and peered over the side. Below them, bodies writhed and danced; drunken with ecstasy – that was the vampires' doing.

Akatsuki remained unconcerned with the vampires' games – he did not care for their victims. Besides, those foolish enough to meddle with vampires really did bring it upon themselves; there was no saving them from stupidity such as theirs.

"I see nothing of interest," Akatsuki noted with a bored glance in Hunter's direction.

"That's because you're looking for trouble," Hunter protested, pointing at a lone girl among the crowd.

"A mortal?" Akatsuki startled, his brows raised in surprise, before dropping into a concerned frown. "How did a mortal get in?"

"Not a mortal," Hunter sighed in frustration, "look at her closely – look! Just then, did you see it? Her skin shimmered!"

"Do you think she's wearing a guise?" Akatsuki asked his friend.

"Undoubtedly, which means that she's hiding something!"

"So when you said that I was looking for trouble…" Akatsuki sighed.

"You should have been looking for trouble in disguise." Hunter finished.

"Great." Akatsuki lamented.

From the ballroom dance floor, Akatsuki found it hard to keep track of the girl. One minute she'd be by the balcony windows, the next she'd be at the center of all the dancing, or skirting the edges of the room. It seemed that she did not want to stand out by not dancing, but then neither did she want to draw too much attention to herself by dancing, so much so that if anyone stopped to observe her they would think she was highly suspicious. It was a good job that Hunter had spotted the girl, thought Akatsuki, for he never would have spared her a second glance – not with such an average appearance. Akatsuki supposed that was also part of the trick. If the girl could alter her appearance, say, with a spell, in such a way that nobody would ever remember seeing her, then she could slip in, do what she needed to do, and then make a not-too-hasty exit. It was a brilliant plan, except it appeared that it was one the girl was reluctant to carry out. If she really intended to do something she wouldn't have waited until so late on in the party to do it, especially not at a nighttime party with vampires and their like invited.

Akatsuki watched over and over as the girl danced among lusting bodies before withdrawing from the crowd to a quieter corner of the room. He determined that she seemed to dislike the dancing, as she spent almost double the time skirting the edges of the room than she did on the dance floor. What he also noticed was the fact that the girl appeared very weary and reluctant, as though she didn't want to be here in the first place. Maybe someone had forced her into coming to the party? Akatsuki decided he needed to talk to the girl; it was obvious by now that she had talked herself out of whatever she was going to do, and she was beginning to regret her decision to come to the party in the first place. He told himself that he would stop and talk to the girl the next time she fled to the edges of the room.

"What is your name?" Akatsuki shot the girl a disarming smile. He'd managed to corner her after what must have been her tenth short-lasting dance among a lively crowd. She was sweating; he could smell the musky scent of it faintly, but only because of his heightened senses. Her hair was tangled and her cheeks were rosy.

"Alice," the girl replied, startled.

"An average name for an average face, now tell me what your real name is and drop the guise."

A sharp intake of breath; the girl's eyes swirled with alarm. Akatsuki noticed the pulse in her throat beat slightly faster, heard her blood accelerate through her body as her heart pumped faster and stronger. He expected her survival instinct to kick in, any second now, for her to sprint away from him. He was fully prepared for it, he had already ordered Hunter to gather is guards and station them by all and any of the exits – even the secret ones, but she didn't run.

"Bellerose – my name is Bellerose Dupont."


	2. Chapter 2

**Please review and tell me what you think! Any criticism is also welcome! Just don't go too hard on me :( **

**Vampire Knight does not belong to me.**

Akatsuki led the girl to the balcony, a place where he hoped they could talk more openly, and closed the double doors behind them.

"Bellerose Dupont. Princess Bellerose Dupont. I assume something is of the matter?" Akatsuki turned back to the girl with a firm look. "I need to know why you're here. You have broken the first law of Severden, and probably a few more. It is not often a Princess chooses to cross her own people." Akatsuki folded his arms neatly and leant back against the doorframe.

"Severden, my mother, my people; they are in trouble. I came simply to ask my oldest friend for help, although I knew that if you could help, it would have to be anonymously." Belle rested her palms against the balcony rail and tilted her head back until her skin glowed in the moonlight. "I did not think of the consequences I would face – you would face – if my mother found out that I had been to the Forbidden Land and met with the Forbidden Prince." Her eyes twinkled, and her whole body shimmered in the moonlight as she finally dropped her guise, the spell diminishing into nothing.

Akatsuki's frozen heart clenched when he saw how beautiful she was now. She had always been beautiful though, even when she was but a babe.

Reaching out, Akatsuki changed his mind and pulled back, but Belle caught his hand.

"It's ok." She reassured him, lifting his hand to caress her gorgeous locks. He so loved her hair, the deep blue-green colour of it, the silkiness; it suited her, although he'd never told her that.

"You're beautiful, even more so than the last time I saw you." Akatsuki whispered, and Belle would have laughed and called him a cheese ball, but the look in his eyes was so serious that she didn't dare. She didn't say anything in response, just let the silent calm of the moment wash over them.

Staring into his eyes, Belle found, gave her an odd sort of peace, or maybe it was her mind tricking her into thinking that the War hadn't happened yet, that she hadn't lost Akatsuki when Severden had declared war against his father's kingdom.

Honey, that was it, his eyes were the colour of honey – rich and delicious. She had loved honey as a child, but now she found it was too sweet and sickly for her tastes, although the honey of his eyes was just so tempting. She felt herself letting go.

"Akatsuki," Belle whispered, "we can't do this."

"I know," he sighed and embraced her in a hug, severing the eye contact. He held her there, on the balcony, as though he would never let go, the evergreen memory of her eyes binding him to her.

"I might abduct you, you know. I could hold you prisoner at the castle for all eternity," Akatsuki murmured softly.

"I would very much like that, and maybe I would let you abduct me, but I am too much wise to know it would not work." Belle buried her head into his chest; the hard rock of muscle unmoving for his heart doth't not beat. It gave her great pain to remember the day his heart stopped beating. She had tried to save him from his fate, but she hadn't tried hard enough.

"I still weep for you, Akatsuki." Belle closed her eyes and re-imagined the rhythm of his heart.

"You do so in vain, for I have long since stopped caring. Otherwise don't you think I would hold my father at grudge? That is simply something I cannot do, something I am not foolish enough to do," Akatsuki drew back, ending the embrace.

"You love him too much, for all the kindness he has shown you," Belle reached up to toy with the loose strands of his hair; blood red as though the Gods had painted them to mock him.

"You'd be surprised, Belle, by how much he hath changed. He is not the same man he was when he poisoned my mother's soul and shredded my innards," Akatsuki held her at a distance.

"He is a tyrant, and a damned one at that. Only a fool would kill his wife and plea that she be resurrected. Only a fool would break his son and ask he be repaired. You are lucky you survived, and even then that is a matter of opinion." Belle dropped her hand from his hair and twisted out of his hold. "Why can't you see that your father is a cruel man? Maybe when you take over the kingdom, Severden will quiet it's protests and we can be friends once again, but while your father is breathing that will never happen!"

"You and I both, know that Severden hate me as much as they hate my father. The only way to end this eternal feud is for you to become Queen." Akatsuki's eyes shone with sadness. "And I will wait another eternity to see that happen."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! I hope you like the story so far. Sorry it's so short, but I hope to make up for the chapter lengths by having lots of chapters. I will try my hardest to update regularly, but please review, otherwise I don't know if my writing is any good. If you have any disputes about the plot, let me know and I might rewrite the chapters for you!**

Akatsuki felt his metaphorical heart tug as Belle turned away from him. This was it now; he wouldn't see her again. You'd think it would be easier to say goodbye a second time, but it wasn't.

"Wait!" Akatsuki started forward and tugged Belle back into his arms. She came willingly, melting against him and sinking into his grasp.

"I can't do it, Akatsuki! I can't leave you again!" She sobbed.

Akatsuki tilted her chin up to face him in response, bringing his lips down upon hers in a needy goodbye kiss.

He'd meant to draw back after one swift kiss, but he quickly found himself out of his depth – he needed her; he wanted her. Belle lifted her arms up to encircle his neck, and Akatsuki held her steady by the waist.

"Please don't go," he panted, the raw pain of having to let her go again might just tear him apart.

"I won't," it was a hasty, breathless promise. "I won't." She laid her head against his chest, listening for a heartbeat that would never sound again.

"Did you hate your dad?" Belle asked suddenly.

"What?" Akatsuki was caught off guard.

"For what he did to you and your mum, I mean. Did you hate him?" Belle leaned back so that she could look into Akatsuki's eyes.

"Yes, I suppose I did," Akatsuki turned the question over in his mind before replying.

"What do you mean 'I suppose'?" Belle frowned.

"He was my dad; he still is my dad, although I don't love him like I used to, I can't. Not after what he did to mum. If it was just me he hurt I might have been able to forgive him, but hurting mum…" Akatsuki trailed off, his throat had closed up and his mouth had gone dry. "I miss her, Belle, I miss her so much. All those times she wasn't there when I really needed her… It was dad's fault she wasn't there, and I don't think I'll ever forgive him for that, for taking mum away from me." Belle watched as Akatsuki held the tears at bay; ran her fingers gently down his back in a soothing motion.

The steady throb of music leaked through the gap in the double doors and onto the balcony, cocooning them in a sweet melody of notes.

Akatsuki started to sway to the music, gently guiding Belle by the hips in time to his movements.

"Dance with me," Akatsuki mouthed in her ear, his breath hot on her skin, tickling her neck.

"You know I can't dance, Akatsuki," Belle warned.

"You know I don't care," he twirled her by the hand, supporting her with another hand behind her back.

"Akatsuki!" Belle protested when he lifted her into the air and spun her round and round until they were both dizzy and giggling.

"Do you remember the soiree we attended back when we were younger? The one where I foolishly agreed to dance with you and you spun me round and around until we collapsed on the floor." Belle smiled, resting her head on Akatsuki's shoulder as he began to sway again.

"Oh, you mean the one where your mum scolded me for making her daughter look bad? Yeah, I remember that. I remember when that other boy asked you to dance and I dragged you away from him. I must've been green with envy," Akatsuki chuckled softly, his chest vibrating.

"I think he was greener! You got to dance with me in the end, remember? All he got to do was say 'hi' and you'd whisked me away!" Belle laughed, clutching Akatsuki tighter, trying to reassure herself that he was still there.

"I'm not going anywhere, Belle. I promise," Akatsuki planted a kiss on the crown of her head.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just can't get it out of my head that someone's going to take you away from me again," Belle sighed.

The music drifted to a halt and Akatsuki finally stopped swaying.

"What are we going to do?" He lifted a hand to cup her cheek, smearing away the tears that had started to fall.

"I don't want to go back to Severden," Belle wept, "I want to stay here with you."

"Don't cry, Belle. I'll have Hunter send your parents a message claiming that you had to delay your return to Severden. That'll give us a few more days together at least." Akatsuki kissed away the tears, making Belle smile once again.

"They expect I'll be gone for a week at least; they think I'm in Ilasia with my cousins. I'm due back in five days. I'll write to them two days before I'm due to return and tell them I'm extending my leave." Belle nodded.

"Good, that'll give us plenty of time to… catch up." Akatsuki smirked and Belle slapped him.


End file.
